Nellie's Boardinghouse: A Dual Biography of Nellie Coffman and Palm Springs

This is documented biography of an extraordinary woman and her extraordinary hotel in a town, geographically and climatically unique. The woman was the late and great Nellie Norton Coffman - a tenacious but tender non-conformist. The hotel was the prestigious, nationally famous and frequented Desert Inn. The town was and is Palm Springs, California. An indomitable pioneer and latent feminist, but feminine, Nellie arrived in Palm Springs in 1909 population, 10 whites and 50 Indians. No electricity, no telephones, no air-conditioning, no smog, no roads, but nine months of the year perfect, salubrious climate. . .